Wicked: For Good picks up where the first chapter left us hanging, and thankfully, it does not fumble the landing. Directed once again by Jon M. Chu, this second half leans harder into consequence, regret, and the emotional bill that comes due when idealism meets power. The sparkle is still here, but it is dimmer now. Intentionally so.
Elphaba, played with ferocious vulnerability by Cynthia Erivo, is no longer discovering who she is. She is defending it. Erivo’s performance deepens, her voice less showy and more weathered, like someone who has screamed into the void and gotten an echo back. Glinda, embodied by Ariana Grande, becomes the film’s quiet surprise. Her comic instincts remain razor sharp, but Chu allows her moments of stillness where charm curdles into self-awareness. Their fractured friendship is the emotional spine of the film, and it hurts in the right places.
Visually, Chu doubles down on operatic scale. Oz feels colder, more bureaucratic, less magical by design. The production design and costumes still dazzle, but the palette shifts toward restraint, mirroring the story’s moral tightening. Stephen Schwartz’s returning songs and reprises land with added weight, especially the title number, which finally earns its reputation as a tearjerker rather than a showstopper.
Still, Wicked: For Good is not flawless. The pacing sags in the middle, where political plots crowd out character moments. Some supporting roles feel underserved, reduced to symbolic chess pieces rather than people. And the film occasionally overexplains emotions that the performances already communicate.
But when it works, it soars. This is not about becoming wicked. It is about choosing who you stand with once the applause fades. And that choice lingers long after the curtain falls.
RHFC Rating: 8.5/10 🍿
